Leave my cartoon characters ALONE

From an email from Miss Amanda...

First they came for Bert and Ernie, and I said nothing because I was not a Muppet.

Then they came for Tinky Winky, and I said nothing, because I was not a Teletubby.

Then they came for Sponge Bob and Patrick, and I said nothing, because I was not an asexual cartoon sea creature.

I'm just wondering who'll be the next target of the Righteous Conservative Wrath Against Imaginary Creatures...

TOO LATE, now they're after Buster! My children LOVE the Postcards from Buster show on PBS, as we learn about different people, different ways of life, different cultures and how we're all JUST PEOPLE underneath.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings attacked PBS for getting ready to air a Postcards from Buster episode that happens to feature a household headed by a lesbian couple. The show was not about lesbianism, the two women were merely characters in the show who happened to have a different lifestyle than the norm. It is in no way a focus of the show, just a peripheral thing. Ms. Spellings was quoted as saying "What I take away from this is that we at the Department of Education need to do a better job of having an understanding of what we are buying and getting and paying for and what is the programming days before the airing."

Anyone else out there think the Department of Education has better things to spend money on than censorship? Oh, I forgot we were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts for Yes Men to promote Mr. Bush's No Child Left Behind....what was I thinking???? Teaching tolerance and understanding, unity, and the like? crazy ideas.

When asked if her remarks were intolerant, Ms. Spellings responded, "I certainly do not think that kids who are in those families are inferior in any way." Wow, that kind of heart-felt kindness just brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

The episode has been officially pulled from PBS, but it is being distributed to public television stations by WBGH in Boston. Gotta love those east-coasters. Gives us few non-nazi's here in KS some hope.

My quotes & info are from the Kansas City Star 2/2/05. Here's more from cnn: Education Secretary Condemns Public Show with Gay Characters

I'll be searching for a link that we can send comments to our illustrious educational leader. I'm still pissed that some jerk got over $200,000 of tax payer money to talk nice about Mr. W's plan.